About Us

The U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program furthers foreign policy interests of the United States by increasing the mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of mutual educational and cultural exchange experiences. The Department of State designates, monitors and partners with United States organizations to administer the Exchange Visitor Program, including government agencies, academic institutions, educational and cultural organizations, and corporations.

Exchange Visitor (J-Visa) Program Designation (ECA/EC/D)

This office designates U.S. Federal, public and private organizations to conduct educational and cultural exchange programs in fifteen different categories through which qualified foreign nationals can come to the United States to study, teach, conduct research, work, and train.

Exchange Coordination and Compliance (ECA/EC/ECC)

This office monitors regulatory compliance of Department-designated Exchange Visitor Program sponsors. It also evaluates program, category, and sponsor-specific data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), annual management audits, surveys of exchange visitor participants, and data requests to track program statistics, identify systemic compliance issues, and detect program trends.